United Airlines Will Restore Special Meals On More Routes

United Airlines will restore special meals on more routes as the carrier slowly unwinds its pandemic-era cutbacks.

United Airlines Special Meals Available On More Routes

With the exception of Kosher meals, it has been difficult to order a special meal if you have dietary needs and are flying United Airlines. That forced passengers with special needs to pack their own food, even if flying in a premium cabin.

Effective April 1, 2022, three additional special meals will be available, in addition to Kosher meals:

• Asian vegetarian meal (AVML)
• Gluten-intolerant meal (GFML)
• Vegan/strict vegetarian meal (VGML)

These special meals will be available on the following routes:

• All U.S. outbound international flights
• Domestic flights over 2,000 miles
• Premium transcontinental flights

You can request your special meal on either united.com or on the United mobile app.

How to request a special meal using united.com

1. Go to My Trips
2. Select a trip from the list, or search for one using your confirmation number and last name
3. Below the list of travelers, select “Special Meal”
4. Select a traveler and enter their meal preference, then select “Send request”

How to request a special meal using the United app

1. Go to My United
2. Select a trip from the list, or search for one using your confirmation number and last name
3. Select “Edit traveler information”
4. Select “Edit” for any traveler requesting a special meal
5. Choose a meal option, then select “Save to reservation”

And a bit of advice: those special meals are often pretty darn tasty (not the Kosher meals, which are often pre-packaged and over-processed). Asian vegetarian meals and vegan menus will at least result in a bit of variation over the usual chicken or ragu polenta in domestic first class. If you are flying economy class on a longhaul flight, I’d also recommend an Asian vegetarian meal, which often results in delicious Indian food (since that reheats well).

Hopefully over time United will continue to offer a more extensive menu of items when passengers book in advance. That eliminates waste, leads to more satisfied passengers, and helps to move United toward its self-professed goal of being a top global airline.

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CONCLUSION

United Airlines will again offer a number of special meals on many of its longhaul routes. This marks another small step in the return to normality.